-Hindustan Times The suggestion is to come up with a standard rate of 17%, a lower merit rate for items of common consumption and a higheR Rate on luxury and sin goods, according to these officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC) has suggested the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to simplify tax rates by creating just three slabs, two officials with direct knowledge of...

-Newsclick.in Even as the growth rate of the Indian economy is slowing down, and the index of industrial production (IIP) is actually showing negative growth for three consecutive months, August to October (over the corresponding months a year ago), the inflation rate in the economy has started accelerating. Significantly, the acceleration in inflation has been the sharpest precisely during these very months when the contraction in industrial output has been the...

-TheWire.in Experts believe that the “population explosion” theory is contentious as despite its 1.37 billion people, India’s birth rates have been falling. New Delhi: Drawing from prime minister Narendra Modi’s Independence day speech, the NITI Aayog will soon start drafting a roadmap for “population stabilisation” in India. On Friday, it organised a national consultation titled “Realising the vision of population stabilisation: leaving no one behind” with the Population Foundation of India (PFI)...

-The Hindu Limiting RTI responses based on locus standi of the applicants could create a chilling effect The Right to Information Act’s role in fostering a more informed citizenry and an accountable government has never been in doubt ever since its implementation in 2005. But there have been persistent and growing misgivings. Section 4 of the Act calls for pro-active and voluntary dissemination of information, but only a few Central and State...

-The Telegraph By all indications revival in 2020 is not possible The year 2019 has played out on a mixed note. Politically, the general election outcome upheld the popular choice of a majority government. Economically, conditions deteriorated rapidly through the year. In fact, an undercurrent of concern about the economic situation prevailed throughout 2019. This surfaced upfront immediately after the May election and reached a flashpoint by the middle of the...